For the Record - Southern Virginia

December 2011

Averett University received $300,000 from the Virginia Tobacco Commission for its nursing program, making a total of $2.1 million contributed, through four grants, to the program. The latest funds will pay to equip simulation labs. (Danville Register & Bee)

Axxor Group, a Netherlands-based company that produces honeycomb cores for many IKEA furniture products, will invest $5 million to establish its first U.S. operation in Pittsylvania County, near IKEA’s U.S. facility. The investment will create 31 jobs. Virginia competed against North Carolina for the project. (News release)

Danville Community College passed the $5 million mark in its $7 million fundraising campaign begun a year ago. The effort is the school’s first major fundraising project, which it hopes to complete within a few months. (Danville Register & Bee)

Danville Regional Medical Center expanded its relationship with Duke University Health System on a patient safety and quality program. The effort is an expansion of Duke’s work with Danville Regional on cardiovascular care. Among the changes will be the addition of a patient safety officer at the hospital. (Star-Tribune)

Engineered BioPharmaceuticals in Danville has received two grants that will allow the company to expand in three years to a larger manufacturing site, creating about 100 new jobs. The Office of Economic Development in Danville said that the pharmaceutical processing company has received a $3 million research grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and a $3 million grant from the Virginia Tobacco Commission. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Pennsylvania announced plans to withdraw 965 of its inmates housed at the Green Rock Correctional Center in Pittsylvania County. Virginia received $20 million annually under the five-year contract, which began in 2010. The revenue loss impacts the state’s correctional budget and raises questions about the future of the Green Rock facility. (The Roanoke Times)

The State Corporation Commission has approved a request by Appalachian Power Co. to recover $6.3 million in costs associated with wind purchase power agreements.The rate adjustment, which will amount to an increase of about a half a percent, will become effective for service rendered on or after Feb. 1. (Martinsville Bulletin)